Who was sanctioned, and for what?

Clarence Colliery Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Centennial Coal Company, was sentenced by the Land and Environment Court of NSW after pleading guilty to five offences under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, after untreated mine water with elevated nickel and zinc levels from the coal mine near Lithgow entered the Wollangambe River in December 2023 and April 2024. The offences comprised two water pollution offences, a licence breach, non-compliance with a prevention notice and a pollution incident response plan that had not been tested for 269 days. The court imposed fines totalling 543,500 AUD and ordered 86,500 AUD for rehabilitation of Long Swamp; in addition, the EPA's legal and investigation costs of 170,000 AUD and 15,548 AUD are payable.

Authority / court

NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA NSW)

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Emissions and permits

Legal basis

Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) s 120(1) (zwei Fälle), s 64(1), s 97(1), s 153E; Zahlungsanordnung nach s 250(1)(e)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Energy and utilities

Repeat case

yes

Mitigating circumstances

Early guilty pleas (25% discount).

Published

23 Feb 2026

Original amount 543,500 AUD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 20 Feb 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

In two incidents in July and August 2022 around 423,000 litres of untreated sewage escaped in Carramar because plant had not been properly maintained, affecting a residential property, a sports field, bushland and Prospect Creek. After a guilty plea, the Land and Environment Court convicted Sydney Water and imposed AUD 225,000 for breaching its environment protection licence and AUD 15,000 for failing without lawful excuse to provide CCTV footage requested by the EPA.

Authority / court

NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA NSW) / Land and Environment Court of NSW

Area of law

Environment and sustainability · Emissions and permits

Legal basis

Bedingungen der Environment Protection Licence; Pflicht zur Vorlage von Informationen und Unterlagen gegenüber der EPA NSW

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Energy and utilities

Mitigating circumstances

25% discount for an early guilty plea.

Published

7 May 2026

Original amount 240,000 AUD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 7 May 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

In 2020 the ASX-listed coal mining company used two ASX announcements and an open letter to shareholders to present as false the allegations of a former senior employee about coal quality certificates amended without proper justification, although an independent investigation at least partly supported them. On the basis of an admission and a jointly proposed penalty, the Court found a contravention of the prohibition on victimising whistleblowers and allegedly imposed AUD 7.5 million (payable in two instalments); TerraCom also pays AUD 1 million of ASIC’s costs. It is ASIC’s first enforcement outcome for breaches of the whistleblower protection provisions.

Authority / court

Federal Court of Australia (auf Antrag der Australian Securities and Investments Commission, ASIC)

Area of law

Whistleblower protection · Retaliation against whistleblowers

Legal basis

s 1317AC(1) Corporations Act 2001 (Cth); Strafe nach s 1317G

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Energy and utilities

Culpability

intentional

Repeat case

no

Mitigating circumstances

Admission of the contravention and jointly proposed penalty following mediation; revised whistleblower policy and training for senior leaders and the board in May 2025; no previous court findings of a similar kind.

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Published

27 Aug 2025

Original amount 7,500,000 AUD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 26 Aug 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link